Wisden - Nasser Hussain Nasser Hussain © Getty Images Enlarge Nasser Hussain has always been too intense to inspire mass affection. Like Nick Faldo, or Steve Redgrave, or other English sportsmen suspected of being obsessive, he has inspired respect instead. In his four years as England's captain, Hussain should have inspired gratitude too. Last winter, in the first three Ashes Tests, England were a rowing-boat overwhelmed by the mountainous waves of Australian cricket. Almost every touring side had capsized against Steve Waugh's team in Australia; but Hussain, a beleaguered skipper if ever there was, kept England afloat. If one image could sum up the tour, it came in the one-day matches before Christmas when England - 3-0 down in the Test series - had to play four one-day internationals in eight days at venues as widespread as Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Any other England captain might have let his exhaustion, physical or mental, show. But there was Hussain in the field, hectoring, urging, berating, then exploding in celebration at the fall of each wicket.

England have not had such an ardent captain since Douglas Jardine, another cricketer whose obsessiveness was not to English taste. Spurred on by this zeal, and blessed when injuries at last struck Australia instead, England won the Fifth Test in Sydney. It has not been zeal alone which has fuelled the England team since 1999, but a sharp intellect blended with a diplomat's skill. Hussain has helped to educate the cricket public, and media, as Mark Taylor did in Australia a few years earlier. With his honest insights into the state of English cricket (and occasional propaganda), Hussain has raised the level of debate above the platitudes which used to prevail. Using a mind that won a Maths scholarship to Forest School and achieved a 2.2 in Geology and Chemistry at Durham University when cricket allowed, Hussain also advanced the moral argument for England not to play in Zimbabwe: it was believed to be the first time in England that team sportsmen at national level, and certainly the whole cricket team, had exercised their consciences. Above all, Hussain's legacy is that he has raised standards inside and outside the England team.

NASSER HUSSAIN was born on March 28, 1968 in Madras (now Chennai). His father Javaid, or Joe, represented Madras in the Ranji Trophy before emigrating to England, where he married an Englishwoman, Shireen. He then returned to India to set up an electronic-components factory in Madras, where the youngest of his three sons was born. Nasser's first experiences of cricket were family visits to Chepauk, where his father was a member of the Madras Cricket Club. His elder brothers Mel and Abbas used to bat on the outfield while he chased after the ball. When Joe returned with his family to England, and took charge of the indoor cricket school in Ilford, Nasser used to bowl for hours on end at his elder brothers, and not just because he was the youngest: he found leg-spin interesting. He was keener on football at first - supporting Leeds United, as he still does, and playing for school teams - but Sunday mornings were always dedicated to cricket, and his father kept pushing him in this direction.

At eight, he was bowling leg-breaks for Essex Schools Under-11s, and at 12 for their Under-15s. Born five days apart, Hussain and Mike Atherton soon found their careers progressing in parallel as they captained, batted and bowled legspin for England age-group teams, while also passing enough exams to go to a leading university. In his mid-teens, however, Hussain "grew a foot in a winter" and the trajectory of his bowling was altered: "I went from bowling out Graham Gooch in the indoor school with everyone watching to hitting the roof or bowling triple-bouncers in deadly silence." His father remembers him crying in bed at the loss of his legbreak; the son felt he was letting his father down. He was also anxious not to be left behind by his peers, boys like Atherton, Trevor Ward, Martin Bicknell and Chris Lewis. So he made himself into a batsman, moving up the order from tail-end to opening or No. 3, and becoming the first boy at Forest to score 1000 runs in a season since 1901.

Vestiges of this manufacturing process remain in his technique: he bats with little left elbow and plenty of bottom hand, and backs up with the bat in his right hand (not that Duncan Fletcher minds). In general, his runs seem to be scored as much by an exceptional effort of will as through natural talent. These characteristics have been most apparent in one-day cricket, or when Michael Vaughan at the other end has been stroking the ball around with classical orthodoxy. He also developed a reputation. The fieriest of three brothers who had all inherited their father's short temper, he vented his frustration at being dismissed - and at being unable to bowl leg-spin? - on his equipment or anything else in sight. He came to be bracketed with Graham Thorpe and Mark Ramprakash as a brat-pack. By the time he became captain, Hussain was as unpopular as any cricketer in England. The perception, though, was worse than the reality. Self-obsessed as he may have been, driven to succeed as many migrants are, and seldom the one to depart after a run-out, he confined his tantrums to the dressing-room (including altercations with his Essex team-mates Neil Foster and Mark Ilott).

He describes himself as "a fairly shy sort of bloke". According to his father, he inherited "good sense" from his mother, together with a sturdy sense of right and wrong. The frustrations built up through his early twenties. Taken under the wing of Gooch, his Essex and England captain, who urged him to play straighter and less behind point with an open face, Hussain made his Test debut on the 1989-90 tour of the West Indies but was mostly out of the side thereafter. His Essex record was good without being outstanding. He spent the 1994-95 winter playing in South Africa, where he was prescribed a contact lens (he has since had laser treatment on his left eye). The England A-team captaincy in Pakistan the following winter was a lifeline: it took him out of himself, encouraged him to think he might be fulfilled, and proved that he was not as bad or moody as his reputation suggested. When he was recalled to the Test team at the start of the 1996 season in the problem position of No. 3, he survived a big appeal off Javagal Srinath, and went on to his maiden Test hundred.

A year later, he made 207 as England for once went ahead in a modern Ashes series. Only injury has kept him out of the team since. When Atherton resigned as England captain in 1998, Hussain had to wait while Alec Stewart had his turn. But when Stewart was sacked after the 1999 World Cup, he was matured and ready for the responsibility. His first Test in charge ended in victory as England dismantled a modest New Zealand side; his first series in failure when Hussain broke a finger in the Second Test and England fell apart. But help was on its way with Duncan Fletcher joining as coach for that winter's tour of South Africa. They had not met before but it was a fine partnership from the first. Hussain generated heat, Fletcher light. Fletcher planned and prepared the players - identifying those with the right character and refining their technique, especially when batting against spin - while Hussain led them zealously on the field. Once a new system of squad players contracted to the ECB was put in place, English cricket was set for its finest achievements - four successive Test series won - since the Ian Botham era ended in the mid-1980s.

But for Hussain himself, 2000 was also an annus horribilis. He did not make a first-class fifty until his final match, the Karachi Test. His place in the side was never questioned as his players and the media appreciated his captaincy, but he still couldn't make a run. Looking back, Hussain can see that he gave too little attention to his own game, that he took his own form for granted after a hugely productive tour of South Africa. It didn't matter if he didn't make runs against Zimbabwe, while against West Indies he became consumed by the prospect of England beating them in a series for the first time since 1969. By the Oval Test, completely out of form, he went out to bat in the second innings unaware that he was on a pair, and duly bagged one. Once he learned to compartmentalise, he worked out that 60% of his attention had to go on the team, 40% on his own game. And the effect on his own game may be judged by the fact that he has been England's one consistent batsman in their last five Test series.

Every time, his first innings of the series has yielded at least a half-century: the captain stamping his mark. England's series victories in 2000-01, by 1-0 in Pakistan and 2-1 in Sri Lanka, were the apogee of Hussain's captaincy - and of a generation of England cricketers, including Atherton, Stewart, Thorpe, Darren Gough and Andy Caddick. In Pakistan, England held on doggedly until the pressure told on the home team, who had never lost at Karachi before. In Sri Lanka, England overcame the stifling heat and the stifling spin of Muttiah Muralitharan. If one session marked the climax, it was when England dismissed Sri Lanka in the Third Test in Colombo in only 28.1 overs. Hussain went into the match injured and could barely walk by the end of it, but his zeal - his passion - won the day. The hope was that England could go on to win the Ashes series of 2001. Instead, they went from apogee to nadir with a 4-1 defeat.

England began a run of injuries which lasted into the following Ashes series and raised numerous questions about their medical team. Hussain himself broke a finger in the First Test against Australia at Edgbaston and missed the next two. If any good came of it, it was the plastic coating which he adopted as extra protection on his gloves. Since then, he has not missed a Test. A mark of his captaincy has been his refusal to accept mediocrity, however often his batsmen have failed to follow his example and given their wickets away, however inaccurate his seamers have been, however little his spinners have turned the ball. Atherton in the end became resigned to his bowlers' and fielders' fallibility; Hussain has barked at every foible and thought up new ways to dismiss batsmen.

His imaginative use of 8-1 fields paid off in India when the home batsmen, after their First Test win, were content to be tied down; and again at times last summer when Sri Lanka were beaten 2-0, the one win to set against three recent losses and three drawn series; but in Australia the batsmen refused to be tied down and it was widely reckoned that Hussain asked his bowlers to experiment too much. He thought his seamers had matured to the extent that he could send Australia in at Brisbane and give his bowlers best use of the pitch; he admitted his mistake long before the match ended in massive defeat. By the Third Test in Perth he was considering his position, not for the first or last time, but in the darkest hour he pushed himself as hard as ever. While England were lucky that Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were both injured, they still had to be in good enough shape to take advantage. After the Sydney Test, Hussain received "a really nice e-mail" from Gough, which meant a lot as an expression of esteem from his peers. After the World Cup he retired as England's one-day captain, sensibly deciding to concentrate on Test cricket.

By then his wish to be remembered as "a decent leader of men" had already been fulfilled. The only dispute is whether he has been the equal of Mike Brearley as the best England captain since World Series Cricket; or, as their fellow-captain David Gower believes, even better, in more troubled times. To have been captain of England for four years, the most stressful job in cricket, is an achievement in itself. To leave the team better off than when he started, doubly so. Scyld Berry is cricket correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph. © John Wisden & Co BBC SPORT | ENGLAND ON TOUR | Thorpe replaces Hussain Monday, 19 March, 2001, 07:42 GMT Thorpe replaces Hussain Thorpe relaxes at the England team hotel Graham Thorpe will stand in for injured captain Nasser Hussain and lead England for the three match one-day series against Sri Lanka. It caps a memorable week for the Surrey left-hander after his man-of-the-match display against Sri Lanka in the deciding Test in Colombo. "It's nice to be asked to do this, and I regard it as a great honour," said Thorpe.

Hussain has been forced to withdraw from the final stages of the tour with a thigh injury. Hussain will fly home on Tuesday with his reputation enhanced after leading England to their fourth series victory in succession and a notable winter double over Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I've done a little bit of captaincy here and there during my career - but I've played enough to know what's going on Graham Thorpe Thorpe was given the captaincy after England rejected the possibility of offering the role to former captain Alec Stewart. His Surrey colleague took charge when Hussain was forced to leave the field in Kandy and Colombo, but the selectors do not want to overburden the ever-willing Stewart. He is likely to move up the order to replace Hussain as opener and with his wicketkeeping duties it is feared adding the captaincy might be a load too far. Thorpe was the unofficial deputy to Hussain in Pakistan, and feels he is up to the task. "I've done a little bit of captaincy here and there during my career - but I've played enough to know what's going on," said Thorpe. "I haven't done a lot of it. But it is something I'm looking forward to and I'll enjoy doing it.

One-day series 23 March, 1st ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo 25 March, 2nd ODI, Premadasa Stadium, Colombo 27 March, 3rd ODI, Singhalese Sports Club, Colombo "I don't have any long-term ambitions about the captaincy or anything like that. "It's unfortunate that Nasser has picked up an injury - but it's important he gets back and gets fit for this summer." Hussain said it was a "big disappointment" to miss out on the one-day series but his priority was to get fit for the summer and Pakistan and Australia." Thorpe plans to play in Wednesday's practice match against a President's Board XI at the Bloomfield Cricket Club. "I just want to get the feel of being in charge and get used to the disciplines of one-day cricket again and go through a few things with the boys. "It is important we keep our tempo up in this one-day series after the Test win, and we have three very hard games ahead of us.

"They're a top one-day side, and everyone should enjoy the challenge of taking them on out here." Flintoff injury Hussain will be joined on the flight home by four other members of England's victorious squad. Michael Atherton, Jason Brown, Paul Nixon and Matthew Hoggard are not required for the one-day series. England have flown their one-day specialists out to replace them. They are Mark Alleyne, Mark Ealham, Andrew Flintoff, Nick Knight and Alan Mullally, while Michael Vaughan will remain in Sri Lanka in place of Hussain. England - to their annoyance - may yet have to seek a replacement for Flintoff. The Lancashire all-rounder arrived in Sri Lanka with an ankle injury and may not be fit enough to play. The England management's anger stems from being unaware of the problem until Flintoff arrived on the island. The series begins in Colombo on Friday.

Search BBC Sport Online The Official Website of the 2001 Ashes England Team Profiles [ Australia ] NASSER HUSSAIN (Essex, captain) Born: March 28, 1968 Under Nasser Hussain's captaincy, England have seen a revival in Test cricket that has enabled them to begin the ICC World Championship in third position in the table. Although he lost his first two series against New Zealand and South Africa, the Chennai-born batsman then led England to four successive series victories, the first England captain to do so since Mike Brearley in 1978/79. Although Hussain's success coincided with a lean spell with the bat, a century against Sri Lanka in Kandy earlier this year signalled a rosier outlook. He broke a finger in the Lord's Test against Pakistan, missing the Old Trafford Test and the entire one-day triangular series. MIKE ATHERTON (Lancashire) Born: March 23, 1968 A cornerstone of England's batting, and still the man the opposition most want out of the way.

Atherton has played 110 Tests, captaining his country a record 52 times, 11 more than Peter May. He hasn't yet scored a century on home soil against Australia, his one three-figure score against the old enemy coming in his 11th Test in Sydney more than 10 years ago. Of his 16 hundreds, his 10-hour, unbeaten 185 to save the Test against South Africa in Johannesburg is likely to be the most memorable. ANDY CADDICK (Somerset) Born: November 21, 1968 Caddick is one of the world's most consistent new-ball bowlers, with height, bounce and away swing. With Darren Gough, he has formed one of England's finest-ever new-ball pairings. He appears to have benefited from the central contract system, which allows pace bowlers more rest between games. Caddick bowls particularly well to left-handers, and England will hope he has the measure of dangerous opponents like Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer and Adam Gilchrist.

DOMINIC CORK (Derbyshire) Born: August 7, 1971 Cork made a starring Test debut in 1994 at Lord's, taking seven for 43 against West Indies, and followed up with a hat-trick at Old Trafford in the same series. He has scored two half centuries in his 33 Tests. Always up and at the opposition, Cork had to prove his fitness after suffering back trouble, which forced him to return home early from the winter tour of Pakistan. He made a memorable batting contribution at Lord's last summer to secure England's Test victory over the West Indies that paved the way for their ultimate series win. ROBERT CROFT (Glamorgan) Born: May 25, 1970 Despite a promising start to his Test career, Croft has played more of a one-day role since. A keen fisherman and Welsh speaker, his off-spin is based on changes of pace and flight. He is also a reliable lower order batsman who played a vital part in saving the 1998 Test against South Africa at Old Trafford, after which England won the next two matches to take the series.

ASHLEY GILES (Warwickshire) Born: March 19, 1973 Giles established himself as England's premier spin bowler in the 2000 series in Pakistan. The slow left-arm bowler played against South Africa in one Test in 1998, and not again until last winter when he took 17 wickets in the series with Pakistan. Achilles trouble has kept him out of the England frame so far this summer. He has been a member of England's one-day squad for three consecutive winters. A useful lower order batsman, Giles scored two hundreds for Warwickshire last season. Awarded an ECB contract for this season. DARREN GOUGH (Yorkshire) Born: September 18, 1970 Described variously as England's heartbeat, soul and talisman, Gough is one of his country's vital players in any form of the game. England's spearhead bowler passed John Snow's England's haul of 202 wickets in the Lord's Test victory against Pakistan.

He also did well in difficult conditions on both the winter tours, but in domestic conditions he can both seam and swing the ball at considerable pace, and he is a formidable opponent for any batsman. MATTHEW HOGGARD (Yorkshire) Born: December 31, 1976 Hoggard made his Test debut against West Indies at Lord's after fewer than 30 first class appearances, but had to wait until this summer to add to that appearance. He toured Pakistan and Sri Lanka last winter, but did not play in a Test, despite taking 17 wickets in two first class matches in Pakistan. Awarded an England contract this summer. Pacy with a consistent line, the Pudsey-born bowler has the chance to make a more permanent mark on the England set-up this summer. OWAIS SHAH (Middlesex) Born: October 22, 1978 Graham Thorpe's calf injury gave Shah the chance to show his worth at senior international level in the NatWest series. Shah, born in Karachi, made a half-century in the NatWest Series against Pakistan at Lord's, and displayed encouraging confidence and strokeplay.

He toured Australia with England as a 17-year-old, and looked composed. After two relatively lean years, Shah spent last winter in Australia and his form has blossomed this season. ALEC STEWART (Surrey) Born: April 8, 1963 At 38 Alec is still the first choice for the role of batsman-wicketkeeper, and his inclusion gives England the chance to choose a fifth bowler, although they went for seven batsmen in the recent two-Test series against Pakistan. With Mike Atherton, the most-capped present England cricketer with 110 appearances. He scored a dazzling century on his 100th appearance at Old Trafford last summer, and hit two hundreds in the Barbados Test of 1994, becoming the first Englishman to achieve the feat against West Indies. Hussain's predecessor as captain can open or bat in the middle order, where his strokeplay is always likely to entertain. GRAHAM THORPE (Surrey) Born: August 1, 1969 Thorpe is in the form of his life, as three hundreds in the last seven Tests confirms.

The mainstay of England's middle order, he is now rated their best all-round batsman, with an unerring ability to spot opportunities. The back problems which troubled him a couple of years ago seem to be a thing of the past, and his agility was no better demonstrated than by his inspired slip catching in the Lord's Test victory over Pakistan. In 1993 he became the first England batsmen to score a hundred on debut since Frank Hayes 20 years earlier, and against Australia at Trent Bridge. Hussain's absence through injury heralded Thorpe's promotion to the captaincy for the three internationals in Sri Lanka in March. MARCUS TRESCOTHICK (Somerset) Born: December 25, 1975 The find of last season, Trescothick has already established himself as one of the first names on the selectors' team sheet as a reliable opening partner for Michael Atherton. Showed rare maturity in dealing with wily spinners in Sri Lanka and Pakistan during the winter, making his maiden Test century against Sri Lanka in February - 122 out of a 253 total.

He added to this with 117 against Pakistan at Old Trafford and threw in a one-day hundred in the NatWest Series, also against Pakistan, for good measure. Has good technique against the pacemen, which sees him deliberately playing inside the line of the ball moving away from the left-hander. MICHAEL VAUGHAN (Yorkshire) Born: October 29, 1974 Vaughan achieved a major psychological breakthrough by scoring his maiden Test century in the Second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford. He has always looked to have the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level, and now the three-figures stumbling block has been overcome, he should be a fixture in the England batting line-up for years to come. Had a baptism of fire when he came in with England on 2-4 in Johannesburg against the pace of Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock in November 1999. In the circumstances his 33 showed a lot of backbone, and even though England lost the series, Vaughan scored a vital 69 in England's last gasp victory in the final Test at Centurion Park. He can be a useful bowler of off breaks and is a fine fielder.

IAN WARD (Surrey) Born: September 30, 1972 Ward made his Test debut in the recent series against Pakistan and looked the part. He opens the batting for Surrey but was put in down the order by England to try to coax as many runs as possible from the tail-enders. Ward completed his international apprenticeship on the last three England A tours to Bangladesh, New Zealand and West Indies, scoring consecutive centuries in Trinidad and Guyana and finishing the tour with 769 runs at an average of 64.08. A left-hander, he was released by Surrey in 1992, but re-signed in 1996 and is making the most of his second opportunity. CRAIG WHITE (Yorkshire) Born: December 16, 1969 Recovering from back trouble that kept him out of the Test series against Pakistan and the NatWest Series, the Yorkshire-born all-rounder lends good shape to the England line-up. A deceptively fast bowler, he can reverse swing the old ball at speeds approaching 90mph. He is a hard-hitting batsman, capable of making useful runs at No 7 or 8.

Was raised in Australia and represented their under-19 side as a wicketkeeper. His talents were first recognised by former chairman of selectors Ray Illingworth in 1994, but he did not return to the international arena until the current coach, Duncan Fletcher, saw an important England role for him. Australia Team Profiles [ England ] STEPHEN WAUGH - Captain (New South Wales) Born: June 2, 1965 Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium Led Australia to a record-breaking 16 Test wins in a row, including a 5-0 clean sweep against the West Indies last winter, as well as another world record of 14 one-day internationals without defeat after taking over as captain in early 1999. On top of that, he led Australia to a World Cup triumph in England. Has a Test century against all countries he has played against and one of only six Australians to have played 100 Tests.

Comes into the UK tour on the verge of 9000 Test runs, a mark only bettered by Allan Border among Australians, while he has scored three Test centuries in his last six matches to take his tally to 25, with only Border and Sir Donald Bradman now ahead of him. Also the only Australian to have played more than 300 one-day internationals. MICHAEL BEVAN (New South Wales) Born: May 8, 1970 Left-hand batsman, left-arm wrist-spinner Once again proved his abilities as one of the best one-day batsmen in the world as he scored an unbeaten 87 to take Australia to victory in the deciding match of their series against India in Goa in April. Averaged 52.20 in last winter's Carlton Series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe following on from his stellar season with Sussex in 2000 where he achieved an amazing treble top by heading the batting averages in first-class cricket, the Benson & Hedges Cup and the Norwich Union National Cricket League. Now settled at number four in the Australian line-up after serving his apprenticeship down the order.

A brilliant fielder in any position and, on his day, a match-winning wrist-spinner. Also has county cricket experience with Yorkshire. DAMIEN FLEMING (Victoria) Born: April 24, 1970 Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast-medium Returned to international action on the tour of India after an injury-plagued past season in Australia. Should enjoy English conditions with his ability to hit the seam and achieve orthodox and reverse swing making him a key member of the squad. Bowled Australia to victory in the last overs of successive World Cup semi-finals against the West Indies and South Africa, and took 14 wickets in Australia's win in the 1999 tournament. Took 16 wickets in four Tests against England in 1998-99, including a man-of-the-match haul of 9-91 in Perth. Also a capable batsman who made his maiden Test fifty against England in Brisbane on the same tour.

ADAM GILCHRIST - Vice-captain (Western Australia) Born: November 14, 1971 Left-hand batsman, wicketkeeper Enjoyed a fairytale start to his Test career, playing in 15 of Australia's world-record run of 16 successive Test wins. Vice-captain and took charge when Stephen Waugh was absent from the Adelaide Test last winter, leading the side to a hard-earned win over the West Indies. A destructive batsman in either form of the game, he started the tour on the brink of 1000 Test runs with two centuries batting at number seven, while he is good enough to open in one-day cricket, has a score of 154 against Sri Lanka to his credit in that role and blazed past 50 in just 28 balls against India in Goa during the winter. Reached 50 in only 33 balls in the World Cup Final against Pakistan in 1999. A top-class gloveman capable of brilliant work either standing up or back.

Holds the WA keeping record with 54 dismissals in both 1995-96 and 1996-97. JASON GILLESPIE (South Australia) Born: April 19, 1975 Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast Australia's unsung hero on the recent Test tour of India where his 13 wickets in the series failed to tell the story of how well he bowled. Capable of genuine pace to unsettle the best, as he showed in 1997, when his 7-37 won him the man of the match award at Headingley. England will also remember his seven-wicket match haul in Perth on their last Ashes tour that helped send them to a three-day defeat. Took 20 wickets in four matches against the West Indies last winter, and forms part of a fearsome Australian pace battery with Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming and Nathan Bracken. An obdurate lower-order batsman good enough to help Stephen Waugh add 133 in the Calcutta Test against India.

MATTHEW HAYDEN (Queensland) Born: October 29, 1971 Left-hand batsman, right-arm medium-pace The past twelve months have been a total triumph for Matthew. First he led Northamptonshire to promotion to the County Championship first division, with his 1270 first-class runs a major factor behind that success. Then, he enjoyed a Bradman-like tour of India with 549 runs in three Tests including a maiden double hundred in Chennai as well as 303 runs in four one-day internationals that followed. Toured England in 1993 and played in the one-day series before being pipped to a Test spot by Michael Slater. His right-arm medium-pace is a useful weapon while he is brilliantly agile in the field for a big man. Has also played county cricket with Hampshire. SIMON KATICH (Western Australia) Born: August 21, 1975 Left-hand batsman, left-arm spinner Has enjoyed a turn-around in fortunes in the past twelve months after missing most of the 1999-2000 season through illness having suffering chickenpox during the Test tour of Sri Lanka.

He began his recovery with a season at Durham in 2000 and made 1089 runs at 43.56, often on bowler-friendly pitches, to be named their batsman of the year. Then, when he returned home, he scored more runs than anyone else in first-class cricket, 1282 at an average of 71.22. There were no vacancies in the Test line-up last season but he forced his way into the one-day international side for a match and will push hard for a Test berth this summer. England will remember him from 1998-99, when he scored 106 in the tour match in Perth. A former Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy captain. JUSTIN LANGER (Western Australia) Born: November 21, 1970 Left-hand batsman, right-arm medium-pace An all-too-familiar face to English bowlers after he terrorized county attacks for Middlesex in 2000, scoring 1472 runs in first-class cricket including 12 scores of fifty or more in 27 innings.

In the last Ashes series in 1998-99 only Stephen Waugh and Michael Slater among Australian batsmen scored more than his 436 runs with his brilliant, unbeaten 179 in roasting hot conditions in Adelaide a crucial innings. Toured England in 1997 and played in the one-day international series before missing out on the Tests that followed. A gutsy short-leg fielder and brilliant team-man. BRETT LEE (New South Wales) Born: November 8, 1976 Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast Keen to put an injury-plagued Australian summer behind him by fulfilling one of his major ambitions - to take part in an Ashes series. Missed the tour of India after having surgery on his right elbow and that followed his sitting out three Tests against the West Indies with back trouble. One of the quickest bowlers in the world, he could break the 100 mph barrier this summer, while he also has the ability to reverse-swing the old ball at pace.

Exploded onto the international scene in December 1999 with 13 wickets in his first two Tests against India, and followed that with 18 wickets in three Tests against New Zealand in March-April 2000. Plays bass guitar in a band called Six 'N' Out with his elder brother Shane and is a capable, clean-hitting lower order batsman who made his maiden Test fifty against the West Indies in Brisbane last season. DAMIEN MARTYN (Western Australia) Born: October 21, 1971 Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium-pace Australia's Mr Reliable, Martyn has stepped in whenever a vacancy has occurred in the Test match top-order in the past year, never letting anyone down. He stood in for the injured Stephen Waugh in Adelaide last December and his unbeaten double of 46 and 34 was crucial to securing a series-clinching win. That followed on from his efforts in New Zealand the previous March/April, when he took over from the injured Ricky Ponting and scored an average-topping 241 runs in three matches.

Scored 50 in just 31 balls against South Africa in Cape Town in April 2000 and is a reliable slip fielder. Toured England as a 21 year-old in 1993, missing selection for the Test side but scoring a brilliant, unbeaten 51 in 43 balls in the Lord's one-day international. Has also developed his medium-pacers and is a safe slip fielder. GLENN MCGRATH (New South Wales) Born: February 9, 1970 Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast Australia's leading current pace-bowler, who has Dennis Lillee's mark of 355 Test wickets in his sights. Has become the indestructible heart of Australia's attack, with 21 wickets and the man-of-the-series award in the whitewash of the West Indies, including an amazing 10-27 in Brisbane, and a hat-trick that took him past 300 wickets in Perth. Then in India he took 17 wickets in three Tests followed by 10 more wickets in the one-day series, the best figures by a player on either side.

Was Australia's leading one-day wicket-taker in successive home summers in 1998-99 and 1999-2000 and comes back to England with a fearsome reputation. Toured in 1997 and took 8-38 in the Lord's Test, while last summer for Worcestershire he took 80 wickets - the highest aggregate in first-class cricket - at just 13.21apiece. Took 24 wickets against England in the last Ashes series, in 1998-99. COLIN MILLER (Victoria) Born: February 6, 1964 Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium-pacer and off-spinner Made his Test debut aged 34 after developing as an off-spinner to supplement his medium-pacers, and is now rated as one of the best finger-spinners in world cricket. Took 20 wickets in three Tests against the West Indies last season, including a match-winning ten-wicket haul in Adelaide and was named as Australia's Test Player of the Year by his team-mates, the media and umpires at the Allan Border Medal dinner in February.

Still bowls his medium pace and has even switched between the two styles in mid-over in Tests. Familiar with English conditions after spending seven years as a professional in league cricket and has also spent time playing in Holland. Now with his original State, Victoria, after spells with South Australia and Tasmania. A former Sheffield Shield Cricketer of the Year in 1997-98 after taking 70 wickets. One of the characters of Australian cricket, he dyed his hair blue for last January's Centenary of Federation Test match against the West Indies in Sydney. ASHLEY NOFFKE (Queensland) Born: April 30, 1977 Right-hand batsman, right-arm fast-medium A tall bowler from Queensland, Ashley Noffke hails from the state's Sunshine Coast, bowls with good rhythm from a high, clean and uncomplicated action and maintains excellent pace through most of his spells. It was not until the 2000-01 season that Noffke made a real mark at interstate level, but he has long been very highly regarded in local circles.

He was the leading wicket taker in Brisbane grade cricket in both 1997-98 and 1998-99; the Queensland Academy of Sport Player of the Year in 1998-99; and an associate scholar at the Australian Cricket Academy in 1998-99. To add to his skills with the ball, he is also a capable lower order batsman who can defend stoutly for long periods and is an enthusiastic fieldsman who possesses a very strong throwing arm. RICKY PONTING (Tasmania) Born: December 19, 1974 Right-hand batsman, right-arm medium-pace Topped last season's first-class averages in Australia with 726 runs at 80.66 and will have fond memories of England. He made a century on his Ashes debut at Headingley in 1997 and was part of the World Cup-winning squad of 1999.

Averaged 40.33 in last winter's series win against the West Indies and took over as vice-captain for the Adelaide Test when Adam Gilchrist was elevated to the top job following an injury to Stephen Waugh. Only Mark Waugh scored more than Ricky's 393 runs in the recent Carlton one-day series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe. A brilliant fielder in any position and useful medium-pacer. WADE SECCOMBE (Queensland) Born: October 30, 1971 Right-hand batsman, wicket-keeper Technically, Wade Seccombe he is an outstanding wicket-keeper. He operates with the graceful, agile movement that distinguishes most elite glovemen from their peers and is equally at home (notwithstanding the predominance of pacemen in his native state) on the end of fast and slow bowling. With the bat, he is a confident and adaptable performer; he has a particular liking for playing shots square of the wicket and can be very attacking, yet also has a sound technique and has played some fine defensive innings at different times.

Seccombe was chosen to be an inductee of the Australian Cricket Academy in 1993; in his first full season he equalled Rodney Marsh's twenty-four year old record for the most number of dismissals effected by a wicketkeeper in an Australian domestic summer. MICHAEL SLATER (New South Wales) Born: February 21, 1970 Right-hand batsman Australia's senior opener after the retirement of Mark Taylor. No player on either side beat his mark of 373 runs in the Test series win against the West Indies. Making his third tour of England after visits in 1993 & 1997, and also played county cricket for Derbyshire in 1998 & 1999. Topped 1000 Test runs in the 1999 calendar year and usually saves his best for the England attack, with 460 runs in 1998-99 including a brilliant 123 out of 184 in Sydney to help secure the last Ashes series. Has been working as a commentator for Channel Four.

SHANE WARNE (Victoria) Born: September 13, 1969 Right-hand batsman, right-arm leg-spinner Along with Glenn McGrath, regarded as the major threat England's batsmen must overcome in order to take out the NatWest one-day series and the Ashes series that follows. Stamped his mark on cricket history with a wicket from his first ball in Ashes Tests when he bowled Mike Gatting in 1993 and has been plaguing England's batsmen ever since, including a hat-trick in Melbourne in 1994-95. He was the leading wicket-taker in last winter's Carlton Series against West Indies and Zimbabwe with 18 victims, and that, on top of his form in World Cup '99 - he was the joint leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 20 wickets - shows his continuing effectiveness in the one-day game. And there is no comfort for England's batsmen in his figures for Hampshire last summer: with 70 first-class wickets at 23.14, he was the leading spinner in county cricket.

Named one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Century last year, his next target is 400 Test wickets. MARK WAUGH (New South Wales) Born: June 2, 1965 Right-hand batsman, right-arm off-spinner Has enjoyed a brilliant Australian summer to re-establish himself as one of the best players in the world in both forms of the game. He scored 339 runs in the Test series win over the West Indies, while no-one scored more than his 542 runs in the Carlton Series against the West Indies and Zimbabwe. That latter haul included 173 against Jimmy Adams' side in Melbourne, the highest-ever score by an Australian in one-day cricket. Making his fourth tour of England and will relish another visit to the country where he first appeared for Essex over a decade ago. Also claimed World Cup glory in 1999 when he scored 375 runs at the top of the order on bowler-friendly pitches. Only the sixth Australian to take over 100 catches in Tests, still a handy off-spinner and is also one of a select band of Australians to have played 100 Tests.

Question: Who took over as captain of England from Nasser Hussain for the one day series against Sri Lanka in 2001
Answer: Graham Thorpe